HHGregg senior managers are not entitled to share in $40 million in life insurance proceeds from the 2012 death of executive chairman of the board Jerry Throgmartin, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday, reversing a trial court ruling in the managers’ favor.

Dwain Underwood brought a class action on behalf of senior managers at Indianapolis-based HHGregg, claiming Throgmartin’s life insurance proceeds should have factored in earnings that serve as the basis for various levels of bonuses under the company’s annual incentive plan.

Court of Appeals Judge Melissa May overturned a trial court ruling that the managers were entitled to a share of the proceeds under Gregg’s bonus scheme based on 2012 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).

“As the parties could not have intended the EBITDA on which the (Total Rewards Statement) was based would include a one-time event in the form of insurance proceeds that did not reflect the company’s performance, Gregg was entitled to summary judgment,” May wrote in a unanimous nine-page decision.

The order reverses a ruling by former Marion Superior Judge Robert Altice, who since has been appointed to the Court of Appeals.

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Dave Stafford joined the staff of the Indiana Lawyer as a reporter in May 2012 and was named editor in October 2017. An award-winning print journalist for more than 30 years, Stafford has worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers including the Herald Bulletin in Anderson, Indiana, the News-Journal in Daytona Beach, Florida, and the Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Virginia. He and his wife, Denise, live in their hometown, Indianapolis.